Retail Inflation in India rose for the second straight month in May to 5.76 percent in May from 5.47 percent in April. Such a scourge is being witnessed mainly as a result of consumer food price inflation which is at a two-year high of 7.55 percent. What’s striking about this is that the 7.55 percent inflation comes at a time when the country is expecting to have a good monsoon. In March, when a major part of the country was battling with serious drought situation, the inflation was at 5.2 percent, according to the official government data on Consumer Price Index (CPI) released on last Monday.

Inflation Rate in India averaged 7.70 percent from 2012 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 11.16 percent in November of 2013 and a record low of 3.69 percent in July of 2015.

The most important category in the CPI is Food and beverages that bear 45.86 per cent of the total weight.

Food inflation seems to be high because of the steep soaring of the prices of vegetables and pulses. Tomatoes are touching Rs 100/kg, whereas, Dal is at Rs 170/kg, potatoes are also soaring at a rate of Rs 20/kg. Vegetable inflation skyrocketed from 2.21 percent in April to 12.94 percent in May. The inflation in pulses is at 31.57 percent.

The factors

The rising prices of vegetables and pulses that are burning holes in your pocket may be an amalgamation of several factors:

Rabi crops that are marketed in summer months have been extensively damaged because of the severe drought situation in southern states of India.

Besides, vegetable prices remain high all over the extended dry season, until the next lot of fresh vegetables arrive in the market during September.

Tomato is one of the most expensive vegetables now because it does not favour a long life and cannot be stored for too long. Heavy rains and extreme droughts affect the production of tomatoes.

There is a huge gap in the demand and supply of pulses in the market. Production of pulses declined by 17.06 million tonnes in 2015-16 due to two consecutive years of drought, while the demand stands firmly at 23.5 million tonnes.

Another major problem in our country is the poor availability of storage facilities. Millions of tonnes of food get rotten every year.

Prices of several other commodities of daily consumption have also been pinching the consumers. The annual inflation in eggs is 9.13 percent as in May, 8.67 percent in meat and fish, 9.72 percent in spices, and 4.83 percent in oil and fat.

According to Times Of India report, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said in the second bi-monthly monetary policy update, “The inflation surprise in the April reading makes the future trajectory of inflation somewhat more uncertain.”

The next few weeks will be very crucial in deciding where this food inflation is heading towards, as the course of the monsoon will become clear. Also, the government has to be more cautious regarding the storage of crops, so that it can be used at a time when there is a dearth of supply.

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This Mother’s Day, Let Us Make A Real Difference In Our Mother’s Life

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” – Abraham Lincoln

Mothers play a crucial role in our lives. Since we were little, they held our hands, acting as our guide into the world. They took care of all our needs – from teaching us how to hold a spoon, cooking delicious meals for us, dropping us to school and sitting with us while we struggled with our math homework – mothers have been there through thick and thin.

On the special occasion of Mother’s Day, Friends Adult Diapers has a beautiful message for each of us – treat your mother the way she has treated you all her life.

It was our mothers who stayed up all night taking care of us when we fell sick; it was her who help us with our homework. This Mother’s Day, remember to take care and support your mother the way she took care of you all these years.

The minds and bodies of our ageing parents dwindle as they grow even older, and somewhere in the incoherence of understanding their thoughts, children lose patience. They spend less and less time with their parents and hire others to look after them. A study by HelpAge India gives accounts of the elderly, most of whom testify to verbal abuse, neglect and disrespect by their children. Old people rely on their children for both emotional and financial support but, often times are not given the needed care.

There is little difference in how we were as toddlers and how parents are as senior citizens. They couldn’t understand the gibber we uttered then, yet taught us different languages. We were financially dependent on them till at least 18 years of age yet, they never said no to giving us pocket money. Why cannot we echo the same patience our parents showed for so many years?

Our parents have an unconditional love for us. They made sure all our needs are cared for and we never feel alone. When we grow up and our parents enter old age, they require the same care and affection. They would be delighted if we spent time with them after classes or work, make tea or cook for them and also help them with household chores when they have too many things at hand.

It is our responsibility to stand with our parents when they are weak; it is our responsibility to cook for them when they are too tired, and it is our responsibility to take care of them when they fall sick.

Mother’s Day is a celebration in honour of motherhood, a tribute to maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society. Let us make a real difference by showing how much we truly care for our mothers.

Friends Adult Diapers has taken a wonderful initiative in this regard. The most precious gift for a mother is her child. So why not take this as an opportunity to shower her with the same love? After all, she deserves it for being with you through every obstacle and every hardship that you faced.